Small Town Murder Songs is a dark, layered crime story taking place in a small, rural town in Ontario, Canada. The film centers around the grizzly murder of a young woman whose body is found in the middle of swamp land. An older police officer, Walter (Peter Stormare), begins to investigate this heinous crime but in doing so, begins to have dark secrets from his violent past resurface, ultimately messing with his new reformed life and overall sense of calm. This is a great character piece for Peter Stormare, a man better know for showing up as an off-beat character in Michael Bay type films. It's superbly well layered, opting to give the viewer very little information about Walters past through most of the film, leading up the end where Walter is forced to confront his past demons. Stormare balances both these characteristics well- a man whose found solace in his life, yet is haunted by these old feelings coming back to the surface. It's a very subdued performance, that is multi-dimensional and unique. It's a very simple story, that unfolds naturally with some great nuances. At 75 minutes it never drags or wears out it's welcome. The films direction and story is nothing incredible or groundbreaking, but its a perfect rural setting for this type of film, with a great central performance out of Peter Stormare, a man who hasn't had many chances to deliver one in his career.7.5/10